


Dinner for Two

by gutterflower



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Fluff and Smut, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-20 16:56:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6017410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gutterflower/pseuds/gutterflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events in <a href="http://bestghoulfriends.wikia.com/wiki/Desperation_Blues">Desperation Blues</a>, Neal finds himself growing attached to a particular ghoul pilot...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dinner for Two

Abby kept Trish close to her as she re-entered the Third Rail. The floor was still red with the blood of the ghoul who had been slaughtered in the chaos.

"Don't look, sweetie - you don't need to see this," she whispered to the girl, keeping an arm around her. Abby felt nauseated, wanting to just curl up and cry, but she didn't have that option. Avery needed help, and Trish needed to be in a safe place.

Molly was busy helping Cory. Cory was conscious now, but her face was covered in blood - her nose clearly broken. Abby was starting to feel that it was a bad idea to even bring Trish inside, but she had been given orders by Mercy to get help. She had just met Molly that evening before all hell broke loose. She approached her, keeping her voice lowered.

"Molly.... Mercy wanted me to get you and Maul," she told her in a hushed voice. Abby's expression was solemn, eyes full of tears that had yet to fall. "Ave... Avery.... he's.... hurt really bad - he needs you two to help get him somewhere safe.... said to get some Med-X from John, too."

Molly sighed, the night clearly getting even worse. "I'll take care of it," she told Abby. "You get Trish home."

Abby nodded. "I'll be back soon... I wanna help, if I can..."

Molly nodded in understanding, taking off to where Maul and Hancock where.

Abby started to head out the door, keeping Trish by her side. Her brother met her near the entrance, frowning.

"Shit... what the hell /was/ all of that...?" he asked her. Abby wiped at her eyes, trying not to cry.

"I dunno... but a lot of people got hurt... could you... could you go see if anyone needs help...? Maybe check on Travis...? He was bleeding..."

Neal nodded. "Alright, sis - just take it easy?"

Abby nodded, not wanting to linger too long. She just wanted to get Trish home.

Neal turned as Abby and Trish left, surveying the room. Travis was still sitting on the stage, looking disoriented. Well, he had been admiring the guy all night... he guessed, if nothing else, this gave him an opportunity to talk to him, eh?

\---

It had been a few days since the incident at the Third Rail. Everyone was still recovering from the chaos. It wasn't as though Goodneighbor didn't have its share of violence, but rarely had it ever occurred in such a public area.

Neal hadn't seen Travis since the event. He had helped Travis get medical attention from Maggie - the Third Rail's waitress who had her fair share of medical knowledge from past experience. After getting him fixed up with some stimpaks and bandages, Neal had walked him back to his garage that was set up on the edge of Goodneighbor. Travis had invited him in for coffee, something Neal was a bit hesitant about at first.

Neal wasn't one for long-term relationships. Things always got messy when that happened. Quick flings were a good way to have fun with no strings attached. Hell - the red-head who had gotten her head slammed into the bar? He even had fun with her on at least one occasion. He knew his sister disapproved of his behavior. She wanted nothing more than for him to find someone who he could love - not simply fuck. How the hell she managed to get a guy like Hancock with that attitude was beyond him.

It was clear that Travis wasn't going to be a one-night stand - or at least not on that night in particular. He was injured - even the stimpaks took their time to heal. Given how small he was, there was no way Neal could get rough with that without aggravating those injuries. Still, that wasn't to say that he didn't wanna tap that. Coffee and chatter just had never been Neal's strong point.

He finally accepted. If nothing else, he found the guy's voice to be rather soothing. He had liked hearing him sing at the Third Rail. His speaking voice was just about as relaxing to listen to. That Hungarian accent he carried about him - oh God - it did things to Neal, that was certain. International accents were always one of his weaknesses - something he had never told anyone before.

And so he sat and drank coffee, listening to Travis talk. It didn't really matter what he talked about - just hearing the enthusiasm in his voice was really enough to keep Neal engaged.

After the night came to an end, Neal retreated back to the inn. He popped by the Memory Den on the way to see how things were going, but didn't linger for very long. Abby had been there - of course - and was a nervous wreck. Mercy was still in surgery with Avery. Apparently the injuries were quite serious. He knew he should have been a good big brother and stayed to comfort Abby, but his mind was elsewhere. She was surrounded by people who cared about her - for once, he would just let them do the work for him as he headed out to go sleep.

He couldn't quite get Travis off of his mind after that. Days passed, but he was always there in Neal's thoughts.

One morning, Neal was interrupted by the sound of knocking at his door. He answered it, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. He began to regret this as he came face to face with his sister.

"..... Chickpea, it's early. What the hell?" he asked.

"It's noon, Neal," she scolded.

".... Chickpea, it's early. What the hell?" he repeated himself. Abby snorted, shaking her head as she pushed past him.

"Wondering where you disappeared to," she answered. "Nobody's seen you for days! Avery almost died and you're doing /what/ exactly?!"

"Look..." Neal sighed, "I'm just tired, ok?"

"Not like you to just hole up in here," Abby pointed out, examining the room. The place was a mess. He had eaten nothing but noodle cups for the past few days and his laundry was piling up. Personal hygiene was always his thing, so the fact that he was starting to smell like a normal ghoul raised suspicions. "Travis has been asking about you," she finally spoke up.

"What- he has?!" Neal asked, sounding a little too interested. An impish grin grew across Abby's face.

"Just wondering where you went off to - same as everyone else," she mused. "But my, my, you're rather quick to respond to that.... so tell me, what's between you two?"

"N-nothing...!" he stuttered. "We just... had coffee.... that's all..."

"Nothing but coffee? Doesn't sound like my brother," she hummed.

"... he was hurt, okay?!" Neal snipped. "Doing anything else would probably have hurt him more. I'm not that sadistic, for fuck's sake, Chickpea...!"

Abby giggled. "Well, I might happen to know what his favorite dish to have with coffee is.... assuming you wanna surprise him with breakfast tomorrow," she winked.

Neal paused for a moment, considering her words. "I.... need a kitchen...."

"I'm seeing the mayor - getting you access to a kitchen isn't really going to be that difficult," she pointed out.

He scratched behind his head. "I... shit, do you think that's a good idea...? I mean, it's not... it was just coffee and talk, ya know...."

"And you've been in a funk since," she noted.

Neal shook his head. He didn't know what the hell was wrong with him. But the idea of seeing Travis - of surprising him with breakfast and hanging out.... not even sex. Sex was good. Sex was /great/. But right then, he just wanted to /see/ him for some stupid reason.

"You think he'd be interested.... in me, that is....?" Neal wondered.

"I wouldn't be telling you to put your damn shirt on and go grocery shopping if I didn't, you dork," she lectured, heading out the door.

Neal sighed, sitting down on the edge of his bed. Well, this was certainly new for him. He only wondered how he'd manage to eventually fuck it up.

\---

Neal couldn't help but wonder how Travis was able to brew a good cup of coffee in this irradiated hellhole. Shit - even Neal couldn't make coffee taste /this/ good. At least he was able to cook something to go with it, however. He had lucked out - Daisy only had one batch left of Mirelurk eggs in stock. Neal had been careful not to screw up that particular order, not having anything leftover to work with if he failed.

The small ghoul seemed to appreciate the surprise breakfast offering. He chattered on, which was just fine - Neal didn't feel very talkative himself, really. So long as Travis didn't seem to mind doing all the conversing, Neal wasn't going to complain.

There was one thing that bugged him, however. He knew he didn't belong here - not the same way that Abby or Travis or any of the other people he knew did. Goodneighbor wasn't his type of place. He admitted that it had gotten much better over the years - especially with Hancock in charge - but it certainly wasn't his river-side diner in Sanctuary. That place was the closest he had come to feeling like home in over two hundred years. Even putting up with Marcy Long was starting to grow on him, as much has he hated to admit it.

After breakfast was finished, Neal helped Travis gather up the dishes. Things fell quiet for a bit, Travis seemingly having run out of things to talk about. Neal finally spoke up, his own thoughts weighing much too heavily.

"I'm... going back to Sanctuary in the morning," he told him. Travis frowned, looking almost like a kicked puppy at the news.

"I see..."

"I mean...." Neal sighed, "Goodneighbor? It's nice 'n' all, but it just ain't my cup of tea. I actually got somethin' goin' in Sanctuary. People who need me... a place to call my own. It ain't much, but it's the only thing that's ever really been mine," he explained.

Travis sipped at his mug. It was the forth cup of coffee he had drunk that morning.

"Will you be coming back anytime soon...?" he wondered.

Neal shrugged. "Dunno," he confessed. He looked over at Travis, the forlorn expression eating away at him. Shit. "But..." he added, "If... I dunno... if you wanna come visit sometime...? I mean... well, there's a guy there who owns a RedRocket just a few blocks away. Might be somethin' you'd be interested in - fixin' up stuff... might even have some parts you could haggle off of 'em."

Travis glanced thoughtfully at his coffee mug. "And... you would want me to visit...?" he asked.

"Well, yeah!" Neal replied, a little quicker than he had intended. "I mean..." he cleared his throat, trying not to sound too eager, "If you... If you want...? I know I wouldn't mind the company..."

Travis smiled a little, looking up at Neal. "Then... yes - I think I will visit soon," he decided.

Neal tried not to smile, but he failed miserably. Shit - what was this guy doing to him? He hadn't felt this excited about talking with someone since... well... he couldn't even figure out if he had /ever/ felt this excited about another person. He wasn't sure if he liked the feeling. It was new. Familiarity perhaps bred contempt, but with so many random variables in his life, it was one of the few things he took solace in. But now this small pilot seemed to be throwing a wrench into everything. Was this what his sister had meant when she tried to describe how she felt....?

He tried not to ponder too long on the thought. Instead, he simply smiled, deciding to stay just a few minutes longer under the excuse of wanting another cup of coffee.

\---

It had been easy for Neal to fall back into the routine of things upon returning to Sanctuary. Wake up in the morning, wash up, put on work clothes, unlock the diner doors for his waitress and bartender to come in and help him prep for the day - it was the same every morning, but he liked having consistency in his life. The past two hundred years had been filled with living day-to-day, never knowing what would happen. Here? Things felt stable. He liked that.

But this time things were different. Every evening, when he sat on the diner roof, smoking his cigarettes and watching the sun set, he couldn't help but wish things were a little less quiet. Not even the sound of the radio or the tunes from the jukebox downstairs seemed to satisfy this craving. What the fuck was wrong with him? It had been what? Just two occasions of chatting over coffee? They hadn't even done anything worthwhile, right?

Yet the bench next to him felt a little too empty these days. Neal liked the quiet - it was something he had never gotten much of when running with Skinny Malone's gang. But now... was it possible for things to suddenly seem a little /too/ quiet?

And then one day, it happened. A familiar face showed up at the bar. Neal had been in the kitchen, cooking up an order when Travis arrived. The moment he stepped out to pass the plate off to his waitress, he saw him sitting nearby. Neal almost fumbled the plate that time. He only occasionally used chems, and he hadn't touched the stuff for at least a few months, so he knew he wasn't hallucinating. Everything was too busy for him to linger for a chat, however. Sanctuary had grown considerably in size over the past year. Being the only diner for miles around meant that there was never a boring moment, but it also meant there was very little time for idle chatter. He quickly invited his friend to come visit later on that evening so that they could 'catch up' on things.

Closing the bar early for the night wasn't something Neal necessarily liked to do - he knew he would receive his share of complaints from the normal patrons, but this was important. His employees at least liked the idea of getting a little paid vacation time. Neal ensured the CLOSED sign was in place, keeping the door unlocked for Travis while he set to work.

It was times like this where he wished his sister was around. He hadn't seen her since he left Goodneighbor, but could only hope things were going well for her there. She at least had a critical eye when it came to himself, however, and it was something he truly could have used for that evening. He ensured everything in the kitchen was prepped and ready to go before he started to work on his own appearance. Running with Malone's gang had given him an odd taste for suits that he had never previously possessed. He didn't wear them much these days, but now was the perfect time to break out his nicely pressed three-piece.

He made sure his hair was pulled back, as usual, but this time he couldn't help but wish he had someone to help him braid it. He finally gave up when the braid refused to cooperate with him, leaving his ponytail loose and in its usual state. He wondered if he should have kept his waitress around for just a little longer to help him, but he felt awkward asking her for help outside of the normal scope of her job.

Finally, the time came for Travis to arrive. He could hear the door opening downstairs.

"Come on up - I'm just finishing settin' stuff up!" Neal called down to him. The sound of footsteps on the staircase... fuck - why did he feel so nervous all of the sudden?

Neal had always liked how he kept the roof decorated. Hanging colored lights gave the place a nice, warm feel to it. It didn't hurt that it made for an interesting date atmosphere. He had placed a small candle in the middle of the table, everything coordinated with a romantic evening in mind. He held his breath as he stood there, waiting. Travis soon appeared through the doorway. He was dressed in his usual pilot's attire - something Neal didn't hold against him since he hadn't exactly advertised that this was going to be a date. He only hoped Abby had been honest when she informed him that Travis was indeed interested in such a thing.

At first he internally panicked - the expression on Travis' face was that of surprise - perhaps confusion? But then all of that fear vanished when the small ghoul began to smile. He ducked his head in a bashful manner, for once appearing speechless.

Neal didn't have anything to add as far as conversation, either. He simply smiled quietly, reaching out his hand and offering it to Travis. The pilot accepted, something that made Neal's pulse beat a little faster. He had never felt like this before... not in over two hundred years of existence. Was this what it felt like to be in love...?

He led Travis over to the table, pulling out one of the chairs and sitting him down. "Wait here," he told him, taking off downstairs to the kitchen to finish cooking dinner. A little while later, he re-appeared on the roof, dishes in hand. The smile on Travis' face made it more than worthwhile.

The two dined under the stars, talking and laughing, carrying on as though they were old friends. It made Neal feel peaceful inside, like a missing part of him had been found. The sound of the downstairs jukebox was loud enough to be heard through the floorboards. It didn't drown them out, but when the talking ceased it could be heard clearly. After dinner was finished, Neal stood up, offering his hand again to Travis. They didn't need words at this point - each seemed to sense what the other was thinking. Neal had danced with plenty of folk before, but this was the first time it felt genuine. It was slow and soft, just him quietly enjoying the feeling of being pressed against the small ghoul. Sure, there was a little awkwardness to it - Travis was over a foot shorter than him, but there was something endearing about the height difference. It made Neal feel cautious - protective, even. He paid more attention to his own movements, giving everything a delicate touch - as though he were cooking an important meal. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt him, after all... well... unless he was into that sort of thing. But that was something for /later/, wasn't it?

He knew his sister would lecture him about sleeping with someone on a first date. She was a hopeless romantic who liked to take things slow. Neal didn't quite operate that way. For him, the best part of being with someone he was attracted to was the quick passion that accompanied it. Things were different with Travis, though. He found himself more inclined to study his body language, gauging his expression to determine if he was being too rough on the guy. After all, being considerably larger than his partner was something that worried Neal. He made a point to be gentle at first. As things became more heated, he realized that being a little more rough got a bigger a reaction out of Travis. He still kept himself toned down considerably, not wanting to ruin what had thus far been a perfect evening. Even with him holding back a bit, however, things turned out to be more fun than his usual one-night stands.

Neal woke as the sun crept through the cracks in the door-frame. He had failed to wake up in time to do the usual prep, but could hear activity going on downstairs. He had to give it to his employees - they certainly were understanding enough not to disturb him that morning, going about getting everything done without him. The bartender knew his way around the kitchen well enough - he always took Neal's place when he had to go out of town. Neal didn't argue. Here he was, limbs tangled with his sleeping lover, whose head was resting against his chest. He would let his workers handle everything for the day. At that moment, all he cared about was simply lying there, listening to the gentle breathing of the man sleeping peacefully against him.

**Author's Note:**

> Travis belongs to [Skizoh](http://skizoh.tumblr.com).
> 
> Please check out [Desperation Blues](http://bestghoulfriends.wikia.com/wiki/Desperation_Blues) for more Ghoul OC drama!


End file.
